T20 World Cup 2024

“Dekhna yeh hain ki agar woh bhag nehi sakte… – Former Pakistan cricketer makes a big statement on Shaheen Afridi

India trounced Pakistan by 4 wickets in the clash of arch-rivals at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the back of Virat Kohli’s sizzling innings of 82 not out off just 53 balls which saw India through in a nail-biting encounter in the 20-20 World Cup 2022.

The worrying sign for Pakistan was that Shaheen Afridi did not look like his usual menacing best, and former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed has issued a serious warning on playing the left-arm pacer in the upcoming matches of the 20-20 World Cup.

On Sunday, in the marquee clash, Shaheen conceded only eight runs from his first two overs but did not get a wicket. However, Javed pointed out that the biggest difference for the pacer was his speed and that he was looking uncomfortable during his run-up.

“Nehi, 100 per cent nazar nehi aaye. Woh jo pehla ball bhaga hai na, I was like, ‘Oh…what’s happening?’. Because shuru main uska woh pace, woh arm speed…but idhr dekhiye, uska pace bhi kaam aa rahi thi. Bhagne main bhi conscious nazar aaye,” ( He was not a 100 % his pace, and his arm speed was not up to the mark, his pace was very slow compared to his usual standards, and his run-up was not in sync.) he told Geo News.

Shaheen Afridi gave away 34 runs in his four overs against India

Javed feels that if Shaheen is worried about hurting his knee again then it would be a big mistake to keep playing Shaheen in the 20-20 World Cup. “Dekhna yeh hain ki agar woh bhag nehi sakte then it would be the biggest blunder to let Shaheen play,” he said. ( If he can’t run, then there is no use [playing him).

Shaheen had picked up a knee injury in the Test Series against Sri Lanka, which subsequently ruled him out of the Asia Cup and the series against England, held in Pakistan.

He later joined the Men in Green for the Tri-Series against the Kiwis but did not play there. He did bowl in the warm-up games in the 20-20 World Cup. A fortnight before the India clash, Ramiz Raja said that Shaheen is all set and ready to play at Melbourne.